With a great # in my possession I showed up at LDC, on sat, at reservation time, with only about 36 other hunters. (There may have been a few more still in their cars, but not many) Everyone got in. There were even a couple of blinds left.The very light shooting was over around 8:30 when the very very lightly dotted skies went totally empty.7:15 am: 1 shot-1 bird-game over. I would guess, maybe, a bird average with no geese* taken (*my selected specialty) I was really surprised at the totally empty skies (even a mile up) when compared to where I shot, last weekend, which I revisited today to confirm.Between the 2, and add a couple more refuges to the mix, it was the difference between night and day as to the numbers of waterfowl on the ground and in the air. So, I've made a decision concerning where* I'm going to spend most of the remainder of the season. (*not including areas that have timely reoccurring "events", that you can set your clock/calendar to, year after year, decade after decade.Still, it was great to participate because you have to be out there, in the field, everyday you can, to catch a new northern flock, just arriving where you happen to be, or a big wind or storm that comes out of nowhere, or a new "X' you've just stumbled onto, or a multitude of other surprises, or events if you will, which all make waterfowling the great sport it is.

I was there with my dad and brother in law on Wednesday with a decent number and scratched out a good shoot. Shot a blind, and only had one bird at first light. Waited about 30 minutes, and then they started to fly. We shot decent from 8ish until 9, then nothing all afternoon until 4. From 4 until 6 we were able to get 5 birds, which was awesome for us, as our club usually shoots terrible in the evening. Ended the day with 6 pintail, 2 mallards, 4 wigeon, a spoon and a gad I believe. Overall a very nice shoot for the lack of birds around.

Like you said though, it was nice for us just to be able to hunt that area. A lot of people lately seem to be dulling down little dry creek, but the habitat that area has is really amazing to us. The amount of feed out there is amazing, something we have been working towards getting our club to look like! Ditches full of smart weed.... . But it is a great looking refuge, and should be, in our opinion, the model of all the other refuges around that neighborhood. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference between the closed and hunting zone of a refuge! (gray lodge cough cough)

"Ducks are like women; they are all good, just some are better than others."-Best 8:00am duck blind quote I have ever heard.

bowman13 wrote:I was there with my dad and brother in law on Wednesday with a decent number and scratched out a good shoot. Shot a blind, and only had one bird at first light. Waited about 30 minutes, and then they started to fly. We shot decent from 8ish until 9, then nothing all afternoon until 4. From 4 until 6 we were able to get 5 birds, which was awesome for us, as our club usually shoots terrible in the evening. Ended the day with 6 pintail, 2 mallards, 4 wigeon, a spoon and a gad I believe. Overall a very nice shoot for the lack of birds around.

Like you said though, it was nice for us just to be able to hunt that area. A lot of people lately seem to be dulling down little dry creek, but the habitat that area has is really amazing to us. The amount of feed out there is amazing, something we have been working towards getting our club to look like! Ditches full of smart weed.... . But it is a great looking refuge, and should be, in our opinion, the model of all the other refuges around that neighborhood. You shouldn't be able to tell the difference between the closed and hunting zone of a refuge! (gray lodge cough cough)

It's easy at GL. All you do is look for the line of old dudes that are within 15 feet of each other. Everything in front of them is closed zone and everything behind them is a hunting area.

slowshooter wrote:It's easy at GL. All you do is look for the line of old dudes that are within 15 feet of each other. Everything in front of them is closed zone and everything behind them is a hunting area.

Because those guys... They know how to hunt.

Well in their defense... They learned to hunt from the govt in boot camp prior to the Vietnam war... Line up, hide by a levee... Shoot anything coming at you

Trust me. 8 hours in a pond with leaky waders, to not fire a single shot... Is still better than work.

It's nice to hear that you think that the habitat at LDC is in good shape. Many of us have feared the complete and total degradation of the habitat under all of the managers that have succeeded Pete Blake. Saturday was a very slow day at our club down in the grasslands too, whereas the previous Wednesday was off the hook. That's hunting I guess...